MLW joined the whole world in celebrating International Women’s Day which falls on 8 March of every year. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”.
MLW celebrated the day by hosting a women’s chat on 11 March 2022. This chat was organised mainly to celebrate the achievements of women at MLW, reflect on this year’s theme, and see how MLW is progressing in ensuring equality for a sustainable future.
In the meeting, MLW Project Manager (ACACIA & EXPO TB) and Safeguarding Officer Elizabeth Mtukumula made a presentation that uncovered concepts regarding gender bias and equality.
Mkutumula said the chat will help eliminate gender biases at MLW that might hinder progression of women. Mkutumula also expressed that she believes sharing is caring thus the need for women to share experiences so that they can learn from each other.
“My hope is that by openly sharing experiences and understanding how our biases affect others, we can all contribute to making MLW a place that fosters equality and actively addresses gender biases that add on to obstacles that keep women from reaching their optimum potential,” said Mkutumula.
In her remarks, a research nurse at MLW Leah Mulira says she hopes the meeting will address gender gaps at MLW and help enact policies that will help in leveling the playing field by removing obstacles in women’s paths for fair competition.
Associate Group Head for Medicine and Society Group Eleanor MacPherson shared a reflection about ‘complaint and silence’. MacPherson highlighted Sara Ahmed’s work on complaint handling within UK universities and the ways in which institutional mechanisms can often silence women’s complaints.
“As we grapple with how to build a more inclusive institutional culture, we need to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. International Women’s Day to me means a day of reflecting on the position of women (including myself) in the society/workplace/country,” she said.
MacPherson also stressed that women’s experiences and stories are often absent. Creating space for women to share their experiences and reflect, according to her, is important whilst thinking of what people do when they hear these stories and experiences.
IWD was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as an official UN holiday for women’s rights on 8th March 1977. This day is recognised internationally to explore ways in which women and girls are leading and contributing powerful leaders and change-makers to a more sustainable future for all. This year’s theme was celebrated with under the hashtag #breakthebias
